Soraya Lane

1937: Estee plans to make her mother’s dream come true, but for different reasons. Estee would remember Felix Barbieri’s words all her life.

"You’ll be the most beautiful dancer at La Scala..."

Present Day: Lily is honoring her father’s legacy by making his dreams her own and the next step as assistant winemaker is a position in Italy. Is the planned time in Italy serendipity that may unlock a connection to ancestry?

I was enchanted by the story. In the pleasure of reading dual timelines, as indispensable as both features are to the storyline, it is sometimes the past, sometimes the present, that offers more intrigue and/or takes my breath away. In this novel, I was mesmerized and immersed in the present and the past, and together, a most romantic excursion by armchair travel in Italy, that met every anticipation of falling in love with Italy and falling in love in Italy. Magnificent! I loved the novel from beginning to end.

I look forward to reading more of the series and being captivated once again by the author’s writing.… (meer)

Amazon’s blurb:
When Hazel is given the chance to parachute into Nazi-occupied France, she seizes the opportunity to do more for the British war effort than file paperwork. Alongside her childhood friend, French-born Rose, she quickly rises up the ranks of the freedom fighters. For Rose, the Resistance is a link to her late husband, and a way to move forward without him. What starts out as helping downed airmen becomes a bigger cause when they meet Sophia, a German escapee and fierce critic of Hitler who is wanted by the Gestapo. Together the three women form a bond that will last a lifetime.

You know those cozy mystery series with cats or bookstores or knitting? Well WWII is like my cozy mystery genre. It doesn't have to be groundbreaking or novel, it just has to follow the formula and hit all the familiar guidepost and it will do. Hearts of Resistance is a perfect example of that. It did everything it was supposed to and I enjoyed my time with it. Now I will likely forget the details in a bit and will only remember that I read it because I log my reading here on LT. Not to say that it's a bad book, just explaining how I read in this genre… (meer)

Claudia ist die Erbin ihrer verstorbenen Großmutter. Beim Notar erhält sie ein Kästchen mit dem Namen der Großmutter und der Zeichnung eines Wappens. Sie möchte wissen, was es damit auf sich hat und recherchiert zunächst in London und stößt dabei auf die Familie Diaz, der eine Zuckerrohrplantage gehörte. Ihre weitere Suche führt sie dann aber auch nach Kuba und Miami. In Kuba trifft sie den Koch Mateo, der ihr bei den Nachforschungen hilft. Es wird eine Reise in das Kuba während der fünfziger Jahre. Dort lebte die junge Esmeralda mit ihren Schwestern und ihrem Vater. Sie lernt den Briten Christopher Dutton kennen und verliebt sich in ihn. Doch ihr Vater hat etwas dagegen und schließt sie ein. Sie muss fliehen.
Dies ist mein erstes Buch der Autorin Soraya Lane. Dieser Roman ist der zweite aus der Trilogie „Die verlorenen Töchter“, lässt sich aber problemlos lesen ohne den vorigen Band zu kennen. Der Schreibstil ist bildhaft und schön zu lesen. Ich mag es, wenn Geschichten auf zwei Zeitebenen spielen. Aber wir schon so oft hat mich der Teil, der in der Vergangenheit spielt, mehr gepackt. Gut gefallen hat mir auch die Beschreibung von Land und Leuten.
Die Charaktere sind gut und authentisch dargestellt. Claudia verliert nie ihre Spurensuche aus dem Blick, auch wenn sie das Leben in Kuba sehr genießt. Esmeraldas Schicksal hat mich sehr berührt.
Es ist eine tragische Familiengeschichte, bei der so einige Geheimnisse aufgedeckt werden. Mir hat sie sehr gut gefallen.… (meer)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this inspiring historical fiction novel.

Interesting WWII novel - As the quote at the end of the book says, “We will not again look upon a women’s flying organization as experimental.” Not only did the women pilots in this book (and in real life) learn they could do so much more than given credit for, but so did the Army Air Force.

'The perfect ladies’ plane’, that’s what they used to call the Spitfire, although I doubt they were ever designed with women in mind. – a quote from the epilogue.

These courageous women made a great contribution in both England and the US during WWII, willing to risk their lives while faced with discrimination from almost everyone -including the male pilots and often times, their own families.

Three women’s life stories are told here, all with flying skills but very different personalities. Women who must overcome their differences to step up and help their country during WWII.

It’s an enjoyable, informative read!

… (meer)